The leader of Sudan's biggest rebel group said in comments published yesterday that oil companies operating in Sudan were legitimate targets. He described them as government "mercenaries" fuelling an 18year-old civil war.
"[Oil companies] threaten us with their oil exploration and by displacing more than 100,000 people . . . We will continue our resistance, and we still regard them [oil installations] as legitimate targets," Mr John Garang told the London-based al-Hayat daily.
"We consider them mercenaries working for the Islamist regime," said Mr Garang, leader of the Sudan People's Liberation Army (SPLA).
Human rights groups accuse international oil companies active in Sudan of helping the country's Islamist-led government to commit violations against local people, such as forced evictions.
The government denies forced evictions take place, and oil companies say their presence in Sudan has a positive effect on the economy and promotes stability.
Some two million people have died since civil war began in 1983. The conflict broadly pits the Muslim, Arab north against the mostly Christian or animist south, which is seeking greater autonomy.
Efforts to end the war have been complicated by the oil reserves in the south. The rebels have previously pledged to disrupt production, accusing the government of using oil proceeds to finance the war. But the government denies this, saying the revenues are invested in rebuilding the south.
Last week the SPLA said it had killed 244 government troops and captured three tanks after ambushing a convoy escorting oil company equipment near the country's oil fields.
A peace summit in Nairobi earlier this month, attended by the Sudanese President, Mr Omar Hassan al-Bashir, and Mr Garang, failed to reach an agreement on a ceasefire. Sudan rejected an SPLA ceasefire call in April which said Khartoum should halt oil exports and prospecting until a peace deal is reached.